The present invention relates to a medication ointment applicator.
Medication in the form of an ointment is often dispensed from a container to a bandage which is in turn attached to an area of the body of a patient. The bandage is attached by any convenient means, such as by adhesive tapes, and the medication ointment is slowly absorbed through the skin.
More particularly, nitroglycerine ointment is often dispensed to cardiac patients in the form of an ointment absorbed through the skin. The ointment is dispensed from a tube-like container to a paper applicator. The paper applicator has a printed scale on one surface, and the ointment is squeezed from the neck of the tube-type container in a measured length such as to dispense a prescribed dosage of medication. The paper applicator is translucent such that the printed scale can be seen through the sheet of paper, and the ribbon of ointment dispensed from the tube-type container is applied to the non-printed side of the paper applicator, to prevent contamination of the ointment by the ink used for printing the scale.
The paper applicator is attached by adhesive tape to an area of the body, such as the wrist, the arm, or the ankle, and remains in position until the ointment has been absorbed by the patient through the skin. Since a predetermined dosage of ointment must often be applied several times a day, sometimes as often as every three or four hours, constant application and removal of adhesive tape applicators is somewhat annoying and time consuming, and leads to skin irritations which may become painful.